Today was just darn great. (In case that reads as sarcastic, it shouldn't.) For the first time in three weeks, it didn't rain, and the sun made everything so much better. I kicked off my day with a delicious smoothie and a run, wherein I took another step (pardon the pun) toward improving my form. It felt so good, and I was going so fast, that I ended up running intervals for about thirty minutes. So far I'm not at all sore, but we shall see how tomorrow goes.
I ate a homemade burrito and was off to McMinnville for the first read-through rehearsal of pieces on my September recital with a pianist I teach with. He lives way out in the sticks, and the drive through wine country was gorgeous. I managed to not stop anywhere, but now I'm itching to go wine tasting sometime soon. I also drove past a sign for olive oil and herb tasting, and holy crap, that sounds even better.
After rehearsal I headed to Lowe's to get everything I need to redo my patio. I know, again. I did this last summer, but I hardly ended up using it because it faces a busy street, and I was annoyingly conspicuous out there. This time I bought some six-foot tall bamboo fencing, though, so I will be able to relax in privacy as soon as I put that up. I also bought lots of herbs to plant back there, and I'm very excited to cook with them, if they survive long enough for me to do that.
A minor issue occurred when I reached the car with my three rolls of fencing only to discover that the key I turn in the back seat so it'll go down and I can put big stuff in the trunk no longer turns. I debated for a while about returning the fencing, but I'm no quitter! After 20 minutes of grunting and glistening (ladies never sweat) I managed to get all three rolls in, balanced precariously between back window and front windshield via the top of the passenger seat. I kind of couldn't see to the right, so I drove home a slightly longer way to avoid having to ever turn or merge to the right. I'm typing to you now, so either it worked or Jennifer Love Hewitt will show up momentarily to lead me to the light.
Back at home I started in on the patio. Today's task? Remove grossness. My disgusting vinyl tablecloth is in the bathtub about to be scrubbed, and I washed a number of other things (candlesticks, lanterns, etc.). I also spent a good hour on my knees scraping moss off the concrete with a trowel. There must be an easier way to do that senza chemicals, but I didn't know it, so I went old school. Also, it's been raining for three weeks, so I was sweeping/scraping/bagging up gross mud, which it turns out is very heavy. I'll have plenty more sweeping to do when it someday dries out, but for now it's better. It felt great to be so productive.
Still to do are: planting my herbs, cleaning the furniture, and most importantly, installing the fence. Due to more rain in the forecast, this will likely happen in installments. I hope by the end of next weekend I'll have an awesome patio!
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